Fahmida Rahman - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Fahmida Rahman

IMC journal of medical science, Jun 9, 2020

Background and objectives: Several types of Burkholderia pseudomallei antigens have been used to ... more Background and objectives: Several types of Burkholderia pseudomallei antigens have been used to determine the antibody response in acute and asymptomatic cases. In the present study, we have detected immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody to recombinant truncated flagellin antigen (RTFA) of B. pseudomallei in the sera of acute melioidosis cases and healthy individuals from melioidosis endemic areas of Bangladesh by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In parallel, IgG antibody to sonicated whole cell antigen (SWCA) of B. pseudomallei was determined to compare with anti-RTFA antibody. Methodology: Serum samples from culture confirmed melioidosis cases and from healthy individuals aged 21 years and above residing in melioidosis endemic rural areas were included in the study. Serum IgG antibody to RTFA and SWCA of B. pseudomallei was determined by indirect ELISA. Results: Out of 8 culture confirmed acute melioidosis cases, 7 (87.5%) and 8 (100%) were positive for anti-B. pseudomallei IgG antibodies by RTFA and SWCA methods respectively. Among 361 healthy individuals, the rate of seropositivity by RTFA-ELISA was significantly less than that of SWCA-ELISA (16.1% versus 26.8%; p = 0.001). The mean optical density (OD) of RTFA-ELISA of positive cases was significantly less than that of SWCA-ELISA in both melioidosis and healthy individuals (0.79±0.11 versus 2.4±0.08, p = 0.0001; 0.67±0.01 versus 1.27±0.02, p = 0.0001). The sensitivity and specificity of RTFA-ELISA were 88.9% and 100% respectively. Conclusion: Findings of the study suggest that multiple or combination of antigens should be used to study the seroprevalence of B. pseudomallei infection in a community. Also, prospective study is necessary to find out the duration of persistence of antibodies to different antigenic components of B. pseudomallei after exposure.

IMC journal of medical science, Jan 12, 2017

Background and objectives: Several diagnostic assays are used for the detection of Helicobacter p... more Background and objectives: Several diagnostic assays are used for the detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in suspected peptic ulcer cases. H. pylori stool antigen test is a non-invasive method for the detection of active infection. The present study has evaluated the efficacy of rapid stool antigen test to diagnose H. pylori infection in patients with dyspepsia. Materials and methods: Adult patients with complains of dyspepsia attending the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases (GHPD) of BIRDEM hospital for endoscopy were included. Gastric biopsy, blood and stool samples were obtained from each participant after informed written consent. Rapid urease test (RUT), serum H. pylori immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgG and rapid H. pylori stool antigen (HpSAg) tests were performed. Only stool samples were obtained from 31 neonates aged 1 to 30 days as negative control for HpSAg test. Results: A total of 91 adult patients with complain of dyspepsia were included in the study. Out of 91 cases, 17 (18.7%) and 74 (81.3%) had peptic ulcer and erosion respectively. HpSAg was positive in 63.7% cases compared to 42.9% and 62.6% respectively by RUT and IgA. The rate of HpSAg positivity was significantly higher (p<0.05) in ulcer compared to erosion cases. HpSAg test was positive in all (100%) RUT positive cases. Combination of HpSAg test and IgA yielded highest positive result in both ulcer (82.4%) and erosion (84%) cases. H. pylori IgG was positive in all cases. Conclusion: The study has demonstrated that HpSAg test is an effective and non-invasive diagnostic tool to detect active H. pylori infection in suspected dyspeptic patients.

IMC journal of medical science, Apr 5, 2021

Background and objectives: Helicobacter pylori infection is suspected to be associated with extra... more Background and objectives: Helicobacter pylori infection is suspected to be associated with extra-gastrointestinal disorders such as diabetes mellitus (DM). It is still a subject of investigation whether H. pylori has a pathogenic role on DM or diabetic patients have an increased susceptibility to H. pylori infection. The aim of the present study was to find out the rate of H. pylori infection in individuals with and without DM. Materials and methods: The study was conducted on 72 diabetic and 19 non-diabetic adult individuals with dyspeptic symptoms attending the BIRDEM General Hospital for diagnostic endoscopy. All cases were tested for H. pylori stool antigen by rapid immunochromatographic test (ICT), urease production in biopsy samples by rapid urease test (RUT), and serum anti-H. pylori IgA and anti-CagA IgG antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Any case that had peptic ulcer/erosion and was positive for H. pylori stool antigen or rapid urease test (RUT) was defined as H. pylori positive case. Results: There was no significant (p=0.095) difference in H. pylori infection between diabetics and non-diabetics (68.1% vs 47.4%). Presence of ulcer and erosion were not significantly different among diabetics and non-diabetics. Anti-H. pylori IgA positivity rate in H. pylori positive diabetic and non-diabetic cases were 65.3% and 55.6% (p=0.575) respectively while anti-CagA IgG rate in those cases were 46.9% and 66.7% (p=0.276) respectively. Conclusion: The present study did not reveal any significant difference in H. pylori infection between individuals with and without DM having peptic ulcer/erosion.

IMC journal of medical science, May 26, 2022

IMC journal of medical science, Dec 8, 2022

Background and objectives: Antibody to SARS-CoV-2 develops both after natural infection with SARS... more Background and objectives: Antibody to SARS-CoV-2 develops both after natural infection with SARS-CoV-2 and vaccination. This study was undertaken to determine the antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 among population after natural SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. Material and methods: The study was carried out on adults aged 18 years and above. Study population consisted of four groups. Group-1 (control): healthy and history of no prior SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination, Group-2: had past SARS-CoV-2 infection and no vaccination, Group-3: received two doses of recombinant adenoviral vector vaccine ChAdOx1 (Oxford-AstraZeneca) without past SARS-CoV-2 infection, and Group-4: had past SARS-CoV-2 infection and received 2 doses of ChAdOx1 vaccination. Blood was collected 1 and 7 months after the second dose of vaccination from Group-3 and 4 individuals. Single blood sample was collected from participants of Gr-1 and 2 at the time of enrolment. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 (anti-RBDS1 IgG) was determined in serum by ELISA method. Results: Total 176 participants aged 18 years and above were enrolled. Anti-RBDS1 IgG positivity rates were 51.9%, 66.7%, 96.8% and 100% in individuals of Group-1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Gr-4 had significantly (p < 0.05) mean higher anti-RBDS1 IgG antibody level (120.8 ± 31.9 DU/ml) compared to other groups 1 month after 2 nd dose of vaccination. No significant differences in antibody response were found among the individuals of four groups across gender and comorbidities. Seven months after the 2 nd dose of vaccines, the antibody concentration declined in 85.3% (112.1 ± 30.4 DU/ml to 75.9 ± 48.7 DU/ml) and 81.5% (127.3 ± 20.4 DU/ml to 92.5 ± 43.6 DU/ml) individuals of Group-3 and Group-4 respectively. Decline of antibody was 40.6% and 34.7% in 7 months, but all remained positive except 1 in Group-3. Fever (34.4%) and headache (24.8%) were the most common adverse effects noted after vaccination. Conclusion: The study revealed that ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine induces high concentration of persisting anti-RBDS1 IgG antibody after 2 nd dose and previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 acts as immune priming. Therefore, antibody screening test prior to booster dose could be a good option to maximize coverage of vaccination.

Bangladesh Medical Research Council Bulletin, 2015

Antinuclear antibody (ANA) is useful in the diagnosis of connective tissue disorder (CTD). Associ... more Antinuclear antibody (ANA) is useful in the diagnosis of connective tissue disorder (CTD). Association of specific autoantibodies with the immunofluorescence pattern of ANA in CTD, noted in western literature has been considered as reference in all over the world. However, in Bangladesh no such research work or data correlating the autoantibodies and their ANA patterns is found. Objective of the study was to identify an association between immunofluorescence patterns of antinuclear antibody on HEp-2 cell and more specific antinuclear reactivities (e.g. anti-dsDNA and anti-extractable nuclear antigen) in the serum samples of CTD patients. Serum samples of 152 CTD patients (Systemic lupus erythematosus, Rhumatoid arthritis, Sjogren´s syndrome, Systemic sclerosis, Polymyositis, Mixed connective tissue disease) were diagnosed clinically, attending at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) during the study period of January, 2010 to December, 2010. Samples were subjected for ANA testing by Indirect Immunofluorescence (IIF) on HEp-2 cell (ALPHADIA) in dilution of 1:40, anti-dsDNA by ELISA and anti-extractable nuclear antigen (anti-ENA) by Dot Immunoblot. Dot blot strips were tested for anti-Sm, anti-RNP, anti-SSA/Ro, anti-SSB/La, anti-Scl-70 and anti-Jo-1. Out of 152 patients 110 (72.3%) cases were ANA positive by IIF on HEp-2 cell. ANA positive sera exhibited four fluorescence patterns such as speckled (50.8%), peripheral (21.6%) ,homogenous (18.1%) and nucleolar pattern (9%). Peripheral pattern and homogenous pattern was predominantly associated with anti-dsDNA (p<0.05). Speckled pattern was significantly associated with anti-ENA (p<0.05).The most commonly identified antinuclear autoreactivity was directed towards anti-RNP (25.7%) then anti-Scl-70 (20%), anti-SSA (14.2%) and anti-SSB (5.7%). Multiple anti-ENA reactivities were identified in 34.28% cases. Peripheral and homogenous pattern is strongly associated with anti-dsDNA and speckled pattern may predict anti-ENA (specially ribonucleoprotiens). As a definite correlation between the ANA patterns and the group of antibodies was detected by dot immunoblot, one could predict presence of certain specific auto antibodies for a particular ANA pattern identified. This may restrict on the cost of laboratory investigations in a developing country like Bangladesh. Thus, ANA-IIF method may reduce the expense of detailed immunological work-up with minimal loss in diagnostic accuracy.

Typhoid is endemic in almost all parts of Bangladesh. Widal areas of the developing countries for... more Typhoid is endemic in almost all parts of Bangladesh. Widal areas of the developing countries for the diagnosis of typhoid fever. The interpretation of Widal test depends upon the baseline titer which is prevalent amongst healthy individuals in a particular geograp area. In the endemic areas, the healthy people may contain antibodies which are capable of reacting up to a variable titer in the Widal test due to a past exposure, vaccination and cross reacting antigens. Therefore, it varies widely from place to pl study were to determine the average baseline titer of the apparently healthy students of a private medical college of Dhaka and to find out the correlation among age; sex and and vaccines against typhoid in regard to the Widal titers. The blood samples were collected from 100 apparently healthy students over the period of five months. After collecting the blood, sera were separated and analyzed for the presence of the Salmonella antibodies using the Widal tube agglutination t...

IMC Journal of Medical Science

Background and objectives: The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection differs in urban and r... more Background and objectives: The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection differs in urban and rural population. In our country, no previous study investigated the H. pylori infection in rural population. The aim of the present study was to find out the status of H. pylori infection among the Bangladeshi asymptomatic rural adult population. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in a rural area located about 40 km north-east of capital Dhaka. Apparently healthy non-diabetic, pre-diabetic and diabetic adults (18 years and above) were enrolled in this study. A structured questionnaire was developed to record the socio-demographic and clinical information. H. pylori infection status was determined by the presence of anti- H. pylori IgG antibody in blood. Serum anti-H.pylori IgG antibodies were determined by immunochromatographic test (ICT) method. Results: A total number of 180 apparently healthy adult individuals were enrolled of which 112, 40 and 28 were no...

IMC Journal of Medical Science

Background: CagA IgG antibody in sera might indicate presence of virulent Helicobacter pylori in ... more Background: CagA IgG antibody in sera might indicate presence of virulent Helicobacter pylori in patients with peptic ulcer disease. Present study was performed to find out the prevalence of CagA IgG antibody in patients with peptic ulcer/erosion. Methods: Any case that had peptic ulcer/erosion, plus positive for rapid urease test (RUT) or H. pylori stool antigen (HpSAg) or serum anti-H. pylori IgG/IgA were included in the study and named as H. pylori positive case. H. pylori positive cases were tested for CagA IgG antibody. Anti-H. pylori IgG, IgA and CagA IgG antibodies were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and stool antigen by rapid immunochromatographic test (ICT). Urease production in biopsy sample was detected by RUT. Results: Total 86 H. pylori positive patients were included in the study. Out of 86 patients, CagA IgG was positive in 34 (39.5%; 95% CI: 0.30,0.50) cases. CagA seropositivity rate in ulcer and erosion cases were 58.8% (95% CI: 0.36,0.78) a...

IMC Journal of Medical Science

Background: Accurate and early diagnosis of enteric fever is a diagnostic challenge where facilit... more Background: Accurate and early diagnosis of enteric fever is a diagnostic challenge where facility for blood culture is not available. As a result, Widal test is still used widely in resource limited settings. Recently, user-friendly rapid immunochromatographic tests (ICT) have been introduced for quick diagnosis of enteric fever. So, we evaluated sensitivity and specificity of an immunochromatography based Salmonella Typhi IgM/IgG test kit and Widal test compared to blood culture for the diagnosis of enteric fever. Method: The study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, Ibrahim Medical College (IMC) and Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM) from June 2017 to September 2017. Clinically suspected enteric fever cases were included. Blood culture, Widal and Salmonella Typhi IgM/IgG detecting ICT were employed for the diagnosis of enteric fever. Results: Out of 71 suspected cases of enteric fever, blood cul...

IMC Journal of Medical Science

Background and objectives: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infection with worldwide distribution caus... more Background and objectives: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infection with worldwide distribution caused by the Leptospira species and predominant in the tropical and subtropical regions. Information on leptospirosis in Bangladesh is limited. The present study was designed to detect anti-leptospiral antibodies in human serum samples in Bangladeshi population by developing an in-house ELISA using recombinant LipL32 (rLipL32) antigen. The study was conducted from April 2014 to December 2014. Method: Healthy individuals from two rural areas and fever cases from one urban healthcare center were enrolled in the study. Rural health centers were located at Sonargoan and Bajitpur sub-district (Upozilla) of Narayaganj and Kishorganj districts. Sonargoan health center is located 26 km southeast and Bajitpur is located 71 km northeast of Dhaka city. About 1-2 ml of blood was collected with aseptic measure and serum was separated and stored at-200C until used. Anti-leptospiral IgG antibody was determined by recombinant LipL32 (rLipL32) antigen based indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Seropositive cases were further confirmed by commercial Leptospira IgG ELISA. Results: The study included 250 febrile cases and 376 healthy individuals from urban and rural areas, respectively. Out of total 626 study population, anti-LipL32 specific IgG antibody was detected in 70 individuals (11.2%). The rate of positivity of anti-LipL32 antibody among the healthy individuals from rural area was 10.6% while the rate was 12.0% in urban febrile population. The rate of positivity in rural and urban population was not significantly (p>0.05) different. Among the urban population, the rate of seropositivity was 9.1% and 16.4% in 21-40 yrs and above 40 years age group respectively while the rate was 7.2% and 14.0% in rural population respectively. Out of 70 seropositive cases detected by LipL32 ELISA, 65 (92.9%) were positive by commercial ELISA. Conclusion: The present study has revealed that leptospirosis is prevalent in Bangladesh and should be looked for in febrile and clinically suspected cases. The study has also demonstrated that rLipL32 protein may be used as a candidate antigen for the serodiagnosis of leptospirosis.

Ibrahim Medical College Journal, 2016

A cross sectional study was conducted in inpatient department of seven primary level hospitals ca... more A cross sectional study was conducted in inpatient department of seven primary level hospitals care centers (PLHCs) and six tertiary level hospitals (TLHs) of the country. Total 2058 hospitalized patients were interviewed over a six month period from October 2012. Most of the patients (85.9% in TLH and 100% in PLH) were prescribed with antibiotics at the time of admission. Only 6.4% patients of TLHs treated with antibiotic had culture proven infection and rest of the patient of TLH and all the patients of PLH were treated with antibiotic empirically. Top prescribed antibiotic was ceftriaxone (39.64% in TLH, 59.64% in PLH). Parenteral route of antibiotic administration was preferred for both at TLHs and PLHCs (63.3% and 76.9%). The results of the present study indicated that antibiotics were widely and inappropriately used without following standard guidelines or based on any rationality. This is an alarming situation, and needs to be addressed by the relevant authority to save the p...

Ibrahim Medical College Journal, 2016

Mecillinam is one of the very few oral antibacterial agents used against extended spectrum βlacta... more Mecillinam is one of the very few oral antibacterial agents used against extended spectrum βlactamase (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) causing urinary tract infection (UTI)). It is reported that, resistance to mecillinam can be reversed to some extent by adding beta lactamase inhibitor like clavulanic acid. The present study was aimed to determine in-vitro activity of mecillinam and mecillinam-clavulanic acid combination on the susceptibility of ESBL producing and non-ESBL producing E. coli. Total 124 E. coli (78 ESBL positive and 46 ESBL negative) isolates from urine samples of patients with UTI were included in the study. Organisms were isolated from patients attending BIRDEM General Hospital from July 2012 to December 2012. ESBL production was tested by double disc synergy test. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of mecillinam and clavulanic acid against E. coli was determined by agar dilution method. Of the total E. coli isolates, 62.9% was ESBL positive and 37.1% was negative for ESBL. Out of ESBL positive isolates, 75.6% was sensitive to mecillinam while ESBL negative isolates showed the sensitivity as 67.4%. The sensitivity to mecillinam of ESBL positive and negative isolates increased to 85.9% and 86.9% respectively by addition of clavulanic acid with mecillinam. The MIC values of intermediate and resistant isolates converted to sensitive MIC range after addition of clavulanic acid with mecillinam. Conversion of resistance of ESBL producing isolates by adding clavulanic acid was also evident by the reduction of MIC 50 and MIC 90 from 4µg/ml to ≤1 µg/ml and from 128 µg/ ml to 64 µg/ml respectively. Similar trend of reduction of MICs was also observed in non-ESBLs. In conclusion, both ESBL positive and negative E. coli demonstrated considerable sensitivity to mecillinam and the sensitivity increased significantly (p<0.05) by adding clavulanic acid with mecillinam.

Bangladesh Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2013

This study was designed for early detection of drug resistance in Category II failure tuberculosi... more This study was designed for early detection of drug resistance in Category II failure tuberculosis (TB) patients and to introduce a simple method to detect multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.TB) from direct sputum sample. Total one hundred Ziehl-Neelsen (Z-N) staining positive Category II failure TB patients were enrolled in this study. Culture and drug susceptibility was done by slide and conventional method, among which 90 samples were positive by slide culture and 87 samples were positive by conventional culture. Susceptibility test by slide method showed 85 (94.44%) resistance to one or more anti-TB drugs. Resistance to Isoniazide (INH), Rifampicin (RMP), Ofloxacin (OFX) and Kanamycin (KA) was 94.44%, 84.44%, 31.11% and 4.44% respectively. By this method 80% isolates were detected as Multi-drug resistant (MDR) M.TB and 4.44% isolates were detected as Extended drug resistant (XDR) M.TB. Susceptibility results by slide DST demonstrated good concordance with conventional DST methods. Statistical analysis showed that, Sensitivity of slide DST method was 98.8%. Susceptibility results were available much faster by slide DST method (12.5±0.5 days) compared to that by conventional DST (60.4±5.9 days). Rate of contamination was also much lower by slide DST method than conventional culture (0.18% Vs 3.25%). The present study reflected that the slide DST method could be applied as rapid diagnostic tool to detect drug resistance among Category II failure TB cases, which is essential for applying appropriate therapy.

Ibrahim Medical College Journal, 2014

This study was designed to determine the extent of drug resistance of M. tuberculosis (MTB) isola... more This study was designed to determine the extent of drug resistance of M. tuberculosis (MTB) isolated from category II treatment failure pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients. A total of 100 Ziehl-Neelsen (Z-N) smear positive category II failure PTB patients were included in this study. Sputum culture was done in Lowenstein-Jensen (L-J) media. Conventional proportion method on Lowenstein-Jensen (L-J) media was used to determine the drug susceptibility of M. tuberculosis to isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RMP), ofloxacin (OFX) and kanamycin (KA). Out of 100 sputum samples, a total of 87 samples were positive by culture. Drug susceptibility test (DST) revealed that 82 (94.25%) isolates were resistant to one or more anti-TB drugs. Resistance to isoniazide (INH), rifampicin (RMP), ofloxacin (OFX) and kanamycin (KA) was 94.25%, 82.75%, 29.90% and 3.45% respectively. Among these isolates, 79.31% and 3.45% isolates were multi-drug resistant (MDR) and extended drug resistant (XDR) M. tuberculosis respectively. High rate of anti-tubercular drug resistance was observed among the category II treatment failure TB patients.

IMC journal of medical science, Jun 9, 2020

IMC journal of medical science, Jan 12, 2017

IMC journal of medical science, Apr 5, 2021

IMC journal of medical science, May 26, 2022

IMC journal of medical science, Dec 8, 2022

Bangladesh Medical Research Council Bulletin, 2015

IMC Journal of Medical Science

Ibrahim Medical College Journal, 2016

Bangladesh Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2013

Ibrahim Medical College Journal, 2014